1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a headlight for motor vehicles. The headlight includes an optical element, a support element, at least one ball-and-socket joint that connects the optical element to the support element, and a spherical ball and a spherical socket. The socket encloses the ball with socket segments and is inserted into a receptacle together with the ball and contacts the inside of the receptacle with its socket segments.
2. Description of the Background Art
A headlight for motor vehicles is known from DE-A-38 41 632, whose equivalent is published as U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,754. An optical element of the headlight having a dish-shaped reflector and a lens covering the reflector, is shown. The optical element is joined to a support element by multiple ball-and-socket joints. The ball-and-socket joint is a part of an adjusting device. The adjusting device has an adjusting screw that is retained in an axially adjustable fashion in an opening of the support element. At a free end, facing in the direction of light output, the adjusting screw has a spherical ball. A socket surrounds the ball with socket segments whose free end sections face in the direction of attachment. The socket segments have hinge-like linkages so that they can be joined to the ball.
When the ball-and-socket joint, of the prior art device, is assembled, a section of the socket is inserted into the receptacle and a free section of the socket segments is opened outward about the hinge-like linkages. When the ball enters the socket and the socket is inserted in the receptacle, the free sections of the socket segments fold together about the hinge-like linkages and contact the inside of the receptacle. As a result, the ball is retained in the socket and the socket is inserted together with the ball in a receptacle of the reflector until the locking action. In this process, detent projections engage behind an edge of the receptacle facing in the direction of insertion, and retaining projections of the elastic socket segments that extend radially outward contact the edge of the receptacle facing away from the direction of insertion.
The socket segments of the prior art device, however, must be designed to be suitably sturdy so that the socket can be securely joined to the receptacle. A ball-and-socket joint of this nature is correspondingly large. Furthermore, the socket is not retained securely against loss in its preassembled state in which a section of the socket is inserted in the receptacle.